Sunday 8 June 2025
"Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. " (v. 9)
Background
I’ve long wrestled with the image of the Trinity. How can God be in three parts, each seemingly unique yet the same? Do we worship three gods or one God? Is Jesus any less God, being the son of God? I think Philip was voicing the confusion of the other disciples and asking if the one sent by God could reveal God to them. What they misunderstood was that God was in the very room with them!
Back in the 1990s, there was a fashion of producing stereograms – images that allow you to see a three-dimensional shape while looking at a two-dimensional image. You could hold a seemingly random image and, by unfocusing slightly, an image popped into view. Sometimes it took a bit of practice until every hidden image would instantly become visible. Jesus had taught his disciples the art of seeing God in the world around them. Others may not have seen, or rather understood, such things as the miracles, the healings, or the teachings of Jesus. Yet even now, as the final days of their time with Jesus rolled by, Philip asked to see God. Jesus tried to make things as simple as possible. He is saying: "You have seen God, Philip, for you see me!"
There are many in the world today who will ask us to show them God. As modern-day disciples, we are called to go in Jesus’ name, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to reveal God. We do so by pointing others to Jesus, through the Bible and by testimony of our own experiences. We understand that Jesus has revealed the power of God, the love of God, and the grace of God through his life and works. As Jesus prepared those first disciples, so he prepares us, so that with his authority as God, transformation can happen in the lives of the people we encounter.
To Ponder:
- How do we see Jesus? As one sent by God, or as the complete revelation of God?
- As his disciples, are we prepared to point others to God by spending time with God's word and stepping out in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Prayer
Today we give thanks that we have been brought into relationship with God through Jesus. We pray that we may be ready to share our testimony, as disciples of Christ, so others may know this wonderful relationship for themselves.
Bible notes author: The Revd Mark Carrick
Mark is a presbyter in the Derbyshire North-East Circuit and is currently the minister of seven churches in the Chesterfield area. His passion is for ministry within the community and growing disciples within the Church. Mark has now served five years in the Methodist Church and is preparing to become Superintendent in September.